P4P #2
A cosy gathering of nerds who are active in art / tech / activism – any systems in service of society.
This month we’re trying a few ⚡ Lightning Talks - a chance to hear briefly about a project someone is working on.
WHEN – Tuesday 10th June, 5.30-8pm
WHERE – 60 Cuba St.
B.Y.O. Snacks + Drinks
Art: Byode, Inverse Sun by Dominik Meyer
Lightning talks ⚡#
Purpose#
✅ give us opportunities to care/ be curious
✅ role model learning: sharing processes + challenges
✅ invite input and connections
✅ generate ongoing engagement, discussions, and collaborations
❌ sales pitches
Format#
3 Lightning Talks per gathering, each comprising
🗣️ 5-7 minute talk
🔄 7-10 mins dialogue (questions/ responses)
This Months Talks#
1. How to choose the right problem to solve with tech#
An intro to a local food distribution project, Coshop.nz, and an exploration of why it was the right place to put tools.
– Ira Bailey
2. Houghton Valley’s 100 year vision#
The role of long term collective story telling in community, with Houghton Valley’s stream-raising project as a case study.
– Grant
3. Radical Extensibility for a Livable Social Web#
– Mako
FAQ#
How do I sign up?
- DM Mix on Signal
- he’s managing a list of people interested in speaking, and will coordinate with you
Can I request someone gives a talk?
Your friend has a project and they’ve been a bit quiet speaking to some of their great mahi! Inviting them to give a short talk like this and cheering them on can be a great way to support them.
I recommend you ask them directly to consider it, or tap Mix to
What are some examples of good talks?
- Coshop - what we just launched, next steps, my current learning/ questions are.
- Vogelmorn Project - an general primer + intro to our disaster resilience work
What makes a talk accessible?
- Talk on a topic you have passion for
- Remember to tell people why you care – e.g. summarise the path you took to caring about this
- Who’s in the room, what context they might need to connect with what you’re sharing?
- Right level of technical detail
- Don’t shy away from technical stuff, but ensure that your audience is able to participate.
- Aim to be speaking so that 80-100% of the room can come along with you. If you’re not sure if people are with you, pause and ask if there are questions about anything so far.
- If clarifying some detail is ballooning out, summarise the important “high level” idea needed to progress the talk, and maybe offer to go more in depth after the talk for those interested.
What do you mean no "sales pitches"?
Mix: this might be a little tricky to convey… I’ve been to community events where people have copy-pasted their startup-incubator/ TED talk pitch in and the vibe felt wrong.
Winning hearts and minds – fine. Telling people why you care and inviting them to join you – great. Treating this like the Dragons Den – please no.
The difference (for me, Mix) is that I want us to focus on growing our community connections. I want this to be a place where we learn about awesome work being done in our community, and then gently channel some love and learning to help that awesome work go further. I want us to build relationships that transcend some particular project, because with relationships and deep trust we can access a different sort of resilience + power – our work becomes meaningful and easier.
Let’s play a long game - share vulnerably to normalize challenges we face, to accelerate our discourse and learning, to role model learning, to foster an ecosystem which grows generations of positive change.
Written by Ed, Ira, Mix